Dierks Bentley has taken chances in his career, putting out a bluegrass album in 2010 and focusing on more introspective songs in his 2013 release, 'Riser.'

Written by

Alan Sculley
Detroit Free Press Special Writer

"Riser," the latest album from Dierks Bentley, is being lauded for its collection of midtempo tunes and ballads that find Bentley digging deeper than ever emotionally - a direction inspired largely by the death of his father two years ago and the recent birth of his first son.

For an artist known for such high-energy fare as "What Was I Thinking," "Sideways" and "5-1-5-0," the more restrained and contemplative material on "Riser" is a bit of a stylistic change.

The album initially leaned even more heavily toward introspective balladry and midtempo material, Bentley says, but that changed ...